"When you did it not..."

Yes, I am WAY behind on my blogging. But, here I am! The dawning of a new era - I'm trying to make a new commitment to keep inquiring minds in the know! I am so blessed and I want to shout it from the rooftops! Okay, since my last post, I have new daughter! Okay, quick recap...I adopted my Max from Russia in 2011. I was planning on adopting from Russia again, but Putin banned all international adoption with the USA. I spent about 9 months grieving and waiting, hoping that I would be able to get the precious little boy and girl that I had met there. But, it wasn't to be. So, after viewing several profiles and thinking "there is no way I can choose," I decided that I was to simply "be still." It was then that it became clear. A friend of mine had introduced me to the profile of a precious little boy. She thought that God was leading her to adopt him, but he led their family in a different direction. It wasn't until I was "still" that I realized that God was leading him to me! I contacted the proper people who promptly told me "oh, you don't want him - he's not as smart as the others." Well, that confirmed it - he is to be a STICKLEY! IQ has never even crossed my mind as a criteria when it comes to adoption! So, after some extreme violence, blood shed, and foul language... okay, not really... it was more like unsuccessful negotiations, change of agencies, and begging God to lead me in the right direction, I committed to 4 year old Moses (aka Maddox on Reece's Rainbow). They basically told me that it would take about 4 years to complete his adoption. That's okay, 8 year old boys deserve families, too. Then I got the BIG question... "we need someone paper ready who can adopt this little girl FAST - she ages out in 5 months." FIVE MONTHS! Adoptions take 12-18 months! FIVE MONTHS! A TEENAGER???!!!! F I V E M O N T H E S !!! I read her medical file and all I really read was a bunch of words because the message that I kept hearing was "when you did it not to the least of these...". So, after a race against the clock, I traveled to China and signed adoption papers THREE DAYS before my Ava Monet Stickley aged out! And guess what... just before I left I got a call that Moses' paperwork was ready! TWO?! TWO adoptions in a year?! "When you did it not to the least of these...." Then, while in China, we visited Ava's orphanage. She introduced us to her nannies and some of her friends. They brought me two little boys, one of whom walked up and took my hand. He looked deep in my eyes and we both burst into tears. It was a magical/spiritual moment that words can't begin to describe. I knew, right then, that he was my son. Annie looked at me and said "Mom, we have to come back for him!" Then, while still looking deep in my eyes, he said the unthinkable..."Mumma?" And all I could think was "when you did it not to the least of these...." So, that is how Amos' adoption began. THREE ADOPTIONS IN ONE YEAR?!!! I will post more later about the red tape part of things. The important thing is that I am blessed beyond belief!